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This Crockpot red wine braised short ribs recipe is the ultimate cold weather comfort food! It has fall-off-the-bone tender ribs with a deep, rich, and flavorful red wine sauce.
Try my Sunday Pot Roast or Crockpot Beef Stew Recipe next.
Why you’ll love it
Are these ever good! Slow cooking short ribs makes them so juicy, so it’s one of my favorite ways to cook ribs. Braising beautifully tenderizes the beef and locks in flavor. The red wine sauce is made with everyday ingredients, and you’ll look forward to leftovers.
These Crockpot braised beef short ribs are a special meal, but it’s actually really straightforward to make them. It’s the ideal recipe to prep on a lazy weekend morning. You’ll be rewarded with the wonderful aroma of these short ribs while they’re cooking!
What you’ll need
- Beef short ribs – they’re ideal for slow cooking. Read on for tips.
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Carrot, onion, garlic – this trio is a traditional aromatic base
- Tomato paste – another layer of rich, concentrated taste
- Dry red wine – merlot, cabernet sauvignon, Côtes du Rhône, pinot noir, or malbec are my recommendations
- Worcestershire sauce – one of my go-to savory flavor enhancers
- Seasoning – my blend is a delicious balanced mixture of brown sugar, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. It is VERY important to adequately salt this recipe!
- Thyme – it’s a classic herb to use in this kind of dish
- Cornstarch – to thicken the sauce
What are short ribs?
- They come from the brisket, chuck, plate, or rib areas of the animal. They’re called “short” because the full length of the rib is not included.
- Braising (browned first at a high temperature, then simmered in a liquid) is a great method of cooking because short ribs generally need time to make the meat tender.
- You may need to tell the butcher that you want them cut into 2″ pieces.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I use this skillet for the sauteing steps, and this is my Crockpot model.
- This garlic press makes it simple to mince garlic with one squeeze.
- Here’s my favorite corkscrew to open up the wine.
How to make Crockpot red wine braised short ribs
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Season the meat with salt & pepper. Working in two batches, sear the ribs in the olive oil until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate. Sauté the carrots and onions until lightly browned.
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, and cook until fragrant. Transfer to your Crockpot. Add the wine, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper, and thyme. Stir, then add the ribs in a uniform layer.
Cook on low or high depending on preference until the ribs are done. Skim the fat off the surface. Make a cornstarch slurry, stir it in, then cook for a few more minutes to activate it. Taste, and add extra salt & pepper if needed.
Pro tip
Don’t skip the searing step. Yes, it’s more work than throwing everything straight into your slow cooker, but it’s well worth it for all the extra flavor.
Substitutions and variations
- These are classic flavors, so I recommend trying it as written the first time you make it.
- You could substitute 1/2 the wine with beef broth, but make sure to reduce the salt quantity if you go that route.
- If you don’t have any fresh thyme, you could leave it out, but I like the subtle flavor it adds.
- Here is the oven version: Red Wine Braised Short Ribs.
What to serve with braised short ribs
- My absolute favorite way to enjoy them is over a big pile of Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes. They’re also great with a Baked Potato or rice.
- If you’d like a green veggie, pair it with my Easy Roasted Asparagus or Easy Roasted Green Beans.
- Round out the meal with a simple salad like my Parmesan Arugula Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat slowly over a low heat. My preference is in a covered saucepan.
- You can freeze these braised short ribs for up to 3 months.
Please leave a star rating and review below if you made these braised beef short ribs in red wine sauce! Tag me on Instagram with any of my recipes that you make.
Crockpot Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 3.5-4 pounds beef short ribs (bone-in)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large carrot peeled & chopped finely
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 bottle dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt see note
- Pepper to taste
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Season the short ribs with salt & pepper.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat, and once the pan is hot, sear half the short ribs for about 3-4 minutes/side or until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate and then repeat for the second batch. The ribs will likely release excess fat, and if they do, spoon some of the fat out, leaving about 1-2 tablespoons in the skillet.
- Add the carrots and onions to the skillet and sauté for 6-8 minutes or until they start to lightly brown.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for about a minute, then transfer the skillet mixture to your slow cooker.
- Add the red wine, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and thyme to the Crockpot. Give it a stir. Add the short ribs in as even of a layer as possible (some will likely stick out and that's ok). Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or 5-6 hours on high.
- Once the ribs are done, skim the fat off the surface (I just use a spoon to do this… don't worry about getting it all). Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water until you've got a smooth mixture, then stir it into the Crockpot. Turn the heat to high, cover it again, and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened up a bit. Add extra salt & pepper if needed.
Notes
- If you’re not using sea salt or kosher salt, you may want to start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more once you’ve tasted it. This recipe needs enough salt to bring out the flavors, so definitely don’t under-salt this one.
- I prefer cooking these on low for the best results, but high works if you’re in a time crunch.
- Serves 6+ depending on how much people eat.
- This recipe has been tweaked from its original version that was published in 2017. If you love that version, you can still access it here.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on February 6, 2017. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!
Really delicious, simple recipe! Especially served over mashed potatoes.
My only tweak is a whole bottle of wine does drown out the other flavors. I ended up replacing 1.5 – 2 cups of wine with beef stock after a couple hours because wine was all I could taste. It was perfect with that change.
Glad you enjoyed it! What variety of wine did you use?
Delicious, thank you for the recipe! Much better than another version I tried. Used Yellowtail Merlot and it turned out amazing! A tablespoon of paprika was surprisingly the perfect amount but initially I questioned if it was too much.
So glad you enjoyed it, Chase!
Easy enough but a bottle of wine is way too much, at least for me. The wine flavor after slow cooking for 7 hours was overpowering and hijacked the other flavors. I belive it needs to be more balanced and well rounded, I suggest adding half the amount of wine and replacing the difference with beef broth.
This was amazing! Made for Father’s Day and all 6 of us loved it. Will make this again for sure.
That’s wonderful to hear, Julie!! 😀 Thanks so much for your review!
I made this for my family and they loved it! I’m excited to try more of the recipes from this blog. Thank you!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Amber!! You are very welcome! 😀 Thank you so much for your review! Let me know what else you try.
2 thumbs down Natasha
Too cheewy
Rethink this
Hi! How long did you cook them for? This recipe has worked for me and other readers since it was first published in 2017. Can you please provide me with some more details?
Hello! Can I use red cooking wine or Marsala cooking wine?
Hi! You could, but honestly, a good bottle of wine really makes these ribs. Sometimes cooking wine can be quite salty, so I would be mindful of that before adding salt.
Fantastic! The house smelled incredible all afternoon and the meal was restaurant quality. Perfect with mashed potatoes. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Bethany!
Can I do this w boneless short ribs?
I think that should be fine! 🙂
Can I substitute the whole bottle of wine with half wine half beef broth ? I am not a red wine drinker but know it is needed for the taste . Please let me know 💜
I think that should work. Let me know! 🙂
If anyone asks if they can use country-style boneless pork ribs, the answer is YES. I printed this recipe earlier this year and when I found myself with loads of country-style ribs to use I thought to use this recipe…without actually reading it was for beef short ribs!! I figured it out after everything was prepped so no stopping. Otherwise, I followed the recipe except for cooking the carrots, onions, garlic, and tomato paste off in the pan with the rib juices and a bit more olive oil. I used Apothic Red blend wine. And I had to cook it for less time; I did 4:30 hours on high, 1:30 hours on low until the meat was stained dark red and falling apart. My husband and I both like this better than our usual beef stew. Really Amazing!!
That’s great to know! I’m so glad it worked out! 🙂